


Still Doll

by LynyrdLionheart



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-20 00:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1490440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LynyrdLionheart/pseuds/LynyrdLionheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU after 4x17.  Silas decided to break her. So she cracked like glass beneath his fists. Now, with Caroline unable to feel and unwilling to listen to her friends, it will be up to Klaus to put her back together before Silas successfully moulds her into his dark queen</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - Mad World

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first completed multi-chapter TVD fic. It's been posted on FF.net, but I plan on posting a chapter a day on here as well. This story is mostly Caroline-centric with some Klaroline, but that plays a very, very minor part in the over all plot.

**Prologue. Mad World**

_“And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had.” ~Mad World, Gary Jules_

                Caroline had been tortured before.

                In fact, she considered herself a bit of a pro when it came to being tortured. Vervain ropes and sunlight without a ring? Been there. Stakes through the hands and wood in the head? Done that. If it weren’t for the fact that it was so damn painful, Caroline would say the whole torture thing was getting old.

                But Silas? Silas knew ways to torture that even Caroline hadn’t experienced before. The beauty of his torture wasn’t in the physical pain, though there was plenty of that. No, it was in the mental agony that he so expertly applied.

                Because Silas could take on the form of anyone he chose, dead or alive.

                And Silas had been making a study of Caroline Forbes, it appeared, because he knew exactly where to strike.

                “You can do this, sweetie. We can fix you.”

                “She likes the kill. She told me so.”

                “If you don’t bring Tyler, she dies.”

                “Useless, shallow, and I’m done with you.”

                “She’s not my daughter. Not anymore.”

                Her father, Alaric, Jules, Damon, her mother. Other times it was Bonnie and Matt, or Elena without her humanity reminding her of how weak she was, looking at Klaus in _that way_ , even though it was his fault Tyler was gone.

                “You know, you can make this all stop.”

                Caroline frowned and looked up from where she was cowering in the corner of the dank cellar. This voice was new. This wasn’t one of the memories torturing her. Her eyes met a pair of slate grey ones, set in a dark skinned, classically handsome face that was framed by raven black hair. She hadn’t never seen this face before, but she knew it belonged to.

                “Silas?” she asked, and her voice croaked.

                “I’ve heard so much about you,” Silas said, ignoring the question. He knew she didn’t really need an answer. “The baby vampire with the control of a creature far older. The golden girl who runs Mystic Falls. The unbreakable Miss Sunshine whose light can never be put out. You’re like a flame, Caroline, and us monsters are the moths that gather around us. Tyler Lockwood, Stefan Salvatore, Niklaus Mikaelson, they all want to be better men for you. I’m not so foolish, though. Two thousand years is far too long. I have no better left in me. No, in my case Damon Salvatore’s methods are far more appealing. I’m going to break you, Caroline.” Silas’ words are said softly, spoken in an almost loving tone of voice. “I’m going to break you, and then I’m going to piece you back together in the shape I want you. It would be easier if you didn’t fight it too hard.”

                Caroline’s eyes spat blue fire at Silas, and the man threw back his head and laughed. It didn’t sound like a villain’s laugh, but villain’s so rarely fit the mould in which fairytale’s paint them. More often than not, the monsters are the most attractive, the most compelling. Caroline knew from experience that that was what made them dangerous.

                “Your eyes are so like hers,” Silas sighed. “She always looked at me like that, too, with such fire. It was what attracted me to you. Oh, don’t look at me with such horror. You’re not a doppleganger for my dead love as young Miss Gilbert is for the Petrova line. In fact, you are quite the opposite of my love. She was as dark as you are bright, but those eyes of yours. They have the same expression. It’s not the packaging, Caroline my dear, but what’s inside that truly matters. I don’t need her packaging, I just need her spirit. I will break you, just as I broke her.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “You will be the queen she never got to be.”

                “I thought you were going to bring her back,” Caroline said. “I killed your witches; shouldn’t you be off unleashing hell on Earth?”

                And saying the words still brought the bile to Caroline’s throat. It still made her ache with guilt, but she couldn’t regret her actions. Killing those witches meant Bonnie lived, and Caroline would face hell on Earth as long as Bonnie was there to face it with her.

                “I wish to unleash hell on Earth for vengeance, sweet Caroline. But no, my love will not be there. She was human, not a drop of magic in her. Even with the final sacrifice, she will not come back to me. But you are here, and you will help me get my vengeance on the one that escaped me.”

                “Qetsiyah,” Caroline murmured. “This is all so you can have revenge on Qetsiyah.”

                “So clever.”

                Silas pressed his lips to Caroline’s and she tried to rear back and remove her lips from his, but Silas simply moved his hand to the back of her neck and held her more firmly. When his tongue tried to invade her mouth, Caroline bit down hard and Silas reared back.

                “Oh yes!” he laughed, wiping blood away from his mouth, leaving a red smear behind. “You have her spirit. Let’s continue, shall we?”

                And Silas once again became Bill, and the cycle continued.


	2. Seven Devils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline's friends realize that she's missing, while Silas continues his psychological method of torture.

**One. Seven Devils**

_“Seven devils all around you, seven devils in my house. See they were there when I woke up this morning and I’ll be dead before the day is done.” ~Seven Devils, Florence + The Machine_

                Elena Gilbert had decided that being without her humanity was far better than having her “switch” turned on. When she was like this, everything was so much _clearer_. There were no pesky emotions affecting her decisions and holding her back. She could do exactly what was needed when she needed to.

                Yet, even without her emotions she couldn’t ignore the call of the graveyard. It was a compulsion, stronger even the sire bond she had experienced to Damon. She couldn’t exactly claim that she felt anything, sitting in front of the gravestones that marked the resting places of pretty much every parental figure that had ever entered her life, but she couldn’t walk away as if they didn’t matter, either.

                “Memories can be bittersweet,” Stefan said from behind her, and Elena wanted to roll her eyes. He was _always_ there, just behind her, as if he felt she needed a babysitter. And if it wasn’t Stefan, then it was Damon, or Caroline, who still gave her the evil eye for attacking Liz. Elena hadn’t been kidding when she’d told Caroline she should turn it off. To be honest, Elena didn’t understand why anyone would choose to keep it on, not when it felt so much better to be like this.

                “Memories are just memories,” Elena told Stefan, getting to her feet. Whatever hold had kept her at the graves had broken when Stefan made his appearance, and Elena could mentally scoff at herself now for the nostalgia that had brought her to the cemetery in the first place. “So, you’re on babysitting duty today, are you? Honestly Stefan, I promise not to eat another cheerleader. All the ones I could find here are full of vervain anyway.”

                “Actually, I’m here to ask you if you know where Caroline is,” Stefan replied, falling into step with Elena as she began to walk away from the gravestones. “She hasn’t answered her phone since Monday.”

                “Lost track of your Lexi replacement?” Elena scoffed. “Whatever will the Ripper do? Maybe actually dare to have some fun?”

                “That’s funny,” Stefan said. “And I’d laugh, only its Wednesday now. Caroline doesn’t go ten minutes without answering her texts, and the only way she misses a call is if she’s being tortured or ignoring you. Now, I’m not the one who attacked her mom, so I doubt she’s ignoring me. I know you’re all emotionless now. I get it, really I do. I’ve been there, and it feels great, right until it doesn’t. But do you think you could try and dig deep and find a bit of worry for your best friend? Just a little bit?”

                “Do I sense a hint of sarcasm there?” Elena gasped with mock surpise. “Oh, are you finally beginning to give up on my humanity? Saint Stefan? That’s _shocking_. As it is, I have no interest in the Queen’s location. As long as it’s not around me, I’m happy.”

                “Silas is running about, and none of us know what he looks like, Elena. He could have Caroline.”

                “So? It’s not like Caroline’s never been tortured before, Stefan. I’m sure she’ll be just fine until you can come along and save her. Oooh, or you could send Klaus. I mean, he’s an ass, but since Tyler’s gone, Caroline needs to get laid, and since _you_ haven’t done anything to help her with that, maybe you should step back from the saviour role for someone who would.” Elena gave him a look of mock disappointment. “It’s really too bad she didn’t take you for a ride, though. I even had a couple name picked out for you guys. _Steroline_ , it has such a ring to it. I guess now I’ll have to root for Klaus instead.” Elena tapped her lips with her finger. “What would you call that one? Klausoline? Carolaus? Klaroline? I think I like Klaroline best.”

                “This isn’t a joking matter, Elena-”

                “I’m not joking, Stefan. I take my shipping very seriously. It’s not real until it has a name. All my favorite couples have ship names… Johnlock, Destiel, Shenny. It’s serious business.”

                “I can see that you’re going to be no help in this mood,” Stefan stated, running a hand through his hair. “So I guess I’ll leave you here to do whatever it was you were doing. You might be right about Klaus, though. At least he seems to care enough that he might actually contribute something useful.”

                “Good luck with that!” Elena called at Stefan’s retreating back. She had to smirk at how easy he was to rile these days. Elena turned, planning on going back home, maybe going to the next town over for a snack, but something made her pause. It was the same strange compulsion that had sent her to the graves of her dead relatives, and now it was telling her to go after Stefan. Caroline could be a total queen bitch after all, but she _was_ Elena’s queen bitch. “Oh, crap. Stefan, wait!”

                It sucked that even with her humanity off, Elena was still driven to the good thing. Being bad was just so much _easier_.

STILL-DOLL

                Klaus was painting.

                He knew Rebekah was trying to tell him about her trip to New York with Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert, but Klaus found that he didn’t particularly care. He was far too involved with his painting, and determinedly trying not to think of Caroline Forbes, who could cut him to the quick with her harsh words and cold eyes one moment, and give him hope that life was worth living in the next. He needed to forget her, and painting his emotions, until they were all on canvass and out of his heart seemed to be the best way.

                “Are you listening to me, Nik?” Rebekah asked, exasperated. “I just told that we lost Katherine Pierce. _Again_. I blame that idiot Doppleganger.”

                “Well, as long as Katerina has the cure, it means Silas is missing the last ingredient for bringing about hell on Earth. This once, I suppose it’s better that Katerina remains missing,” Klaus stated, finally acknowledging that he did, in fact, realize that Rebekah was there.

                “How exactly _did_ Silas manage to pull off his final sacrifice?” Rebekah demanded. “You knew. How was it not stopped?”

                “There was a choice,” Klaus replied idly, looking at the canvass before him and frowning thoughtfully. The color of the blue wasn’t quite perfect. It didn’t quite match Caroline’s eyes. “We could kill the witches, or let the witches kill Bonnie. Caroline made the decision for us. She chose wrong.”

                And it still rankled, that the girl who could look at him and so easily cast judgement, then turned around and killed those witches, all twelve of them, in the name of one person whose existence, in the scheme of things, was a mere blip. It rankled even more that Klaus still craved her approval. He still yearned to be a better man for Caroline Forbes, even if he was finally coming to realize that she wasn’t the angel he had looked upon her as.

                It rankled that this fact made him love her more. She was brave, beautiful, full of light and so perfectly imperfect that Klaus couldn’t help but love her even more with each imperfection he uncovered. Even as he hated her inconsistencies and hypocrisy, he fell more in love with her because of them. Caroline was so… _human_. She would live and die for the people she loved. And Klaus envied those people more than he could ever say.

                “I would have expected her to be dead for that,” Rebekah commented. “But she’s obviously not, and her idiocy obviously didn’t put you off of your odd attraction to her. Haven’t you painted that child enough?”

                “She killed for Bonnie out of love and loyalty,” Klaus said, removing his brush from the canvass and looking at Caroline’s likeness upon it. It was her, as she had stood before him and whispered _I just killed twelve people_ ; so beautifully broken, yet she hadn’t been regretful. Klaus knew, to the very center of his being, that she would make that same choice over and over again if she had to. “Isn’t that what you’re searching for? What you want the cure for? To find a love so powerful you would kill for it?”

                “You’re not me. We do not love, we do not care. How many times have you said those words to me, Nik? Loving Caroling will be your greatest weakness.”

                Klaus didn’t have a reply for that, because it was all true. He turned his back to his sister and set brush to canvass again.

                Then the door crashed open downstairs.

                “Klaus!” Stefan shouted, and Klaus heard him flash up the stairs seconds before he appeared in the room. “We need to talk.”

                “Hello Stefan. It’s wonderful to see you. How am I? Oh, you know. The same old,” Rebekah said airily.

                “I wouldn’t try sarcasm,” Elena, who had appeared just behind Stefan, told Rebekah. “He’s in no mood to deal with it. He’s afraid for one half of Steroline.”

                “Steroline?” Rebekah asked blankly, staring at the Doppleganger.

                “You know, Stefan and Caroline. Together they’re Steroline. I ship it, but Stefan’s being all moody so I’m thinking about hopping over to the S.S. Klaroline,” Elena looked at the painting that was before Klaus and gave a little nod. “Yeah, I mean that’s kind of dedication right there, and I bet you’d convince the little princess to let her hair down a bit. She’s so uptight. I mean, she was as a human, but it’s way worse now that she’s a vampire.”

                “As wonderful as this nonsensical conversation is,” Klaus interrupted coldly. “Perhaps you’d best get to the explanations, Elena. What is wrong with Caroline?”

                “I haven’t heard from her in three days,” Stefan explained. “She isn’t answering any calls or texts. Bonnie hasn’t seen her either, and after that whole sacrifice thing, you know Bonnie is the first person Caroline would go to. With Silas on the loose… I’m worried, Klaus.”

                Klaus set down his brush and moved to sit on the couch. Elena flounced over and sat in the arm chair across from him, and it reminded Klaus so much of the day she had come to him, begging him to call off Kol, that he had to roll his eyes. Of course, this time the doppleganger’s eyes were vacant, empty of the fire that had lit them that day as she had fought so valiantly for her friends.

                “Do you know where Silas could be? Because as much of a torture survival pro as Caroline is, there is a good chance that Silas is a better torturer than she is a survivor, and who knows what he’ll get out of her. She’s kind of terrible at keeping secrets, even without adding pain.”

                Klaus looked at Elena and considered snapping her neck. As much as he had disliked the too righteous version, he thought he might dislike this without humanity Elena even more.

                “He attacked me, the day after the sacrifice,” Klaus admitted, looking to Stefan and putting thoughts of the doppleganger aside for the time being. “Caroline came to my assistance. She may have faced down Silas when he came back to see how I was handling the… outcome of our confrontation. I was surprised when he left her alive, but I thought he perhaps viewed her as beneath his notice. Now I have to reconsider that opinion.”

                “Maybe you should try calling her,” Elena suggested, and both Stefan and Klaus roll their eyes. “No, seriously. Stefan doesn’t think Caroline would be ignoring him, but she did just kill twelve people a few days ago. Maybe she’s gone into hiding and is too guilty to answer his calls. You, on the other hand, are safe. You’ve done way worse than kill a handful of witches. Why would she feel guilty talking to you?”

                “That… actually makes a bit of sense. It’s better than nothing, anyways.”

                Stefan looked at Klaus hopefully, and Klaus almost looked away from his old friend’s gaze guiltily. There _are_ reasons that Caroline would feel guilty about talking to him. Reasons revolving around sweet kisses and her too quick retreat from him after he had come back to himself. Klaus knew it had been out of pity, because he had been all but out of his mind with hallucinations, and kissing him had been the only way to ground him in any sort of reality. They hadn’t really _meant_ anything to Caroline, not really, but her taste still lingered on his tongue even now.

                “I suppose I can try, but I doubt it will work, Stefan. I’m not Caroline’s favorite person, not after the Tyler debacle.”

                “I’m sure she’ll get over it,” Elena offered. “I have great faith that the Klaroline ship will sail happily into the sunset together. Maybe I’ll gif it.”

                “I thought you said that you shipped _Steroline_ ,” Rebekah sneered. “Whatever shipping is.”

                Klaus growled exasperatedly and dragged Stefan away from the two women as Elena launched into a drawn out explanation of supporting couples, and coming up with “ship” names, and how Destiel was happening, she could feel it in her freaking _bones_.

                “I’ll need her number,” Klaus muttered to Stefan, pulling up the dial screen on his phone. Stefan quickly rattled off a series of numbers and Klaus typed them in. The phone began to ring, and after three had passed, Klaus had given up on anyone answering. Then the ringing stopped.

                “I don’t suppose I’d be lucky enough for this to be Niklaus?” asked a male voice that Klaus immediately recognized as belonging to Professor Shane, alias Silas.

                “Why do you have Caroline’s phone?” Klaus growled. Stefan throat bobbed as he swallowed heavily and listened closely to the conversation, and even Elena and Rebekah’s argument had come to a halt as the pair also listened.

                “Caroline and I are spending some time together,” Silas replied. “I really have to commend you on your taste, Klaus. She has such… _fire_. When she interfered with my plans for you, well, I _had_ planned on simply killing me, but then she looked at me and… well, you of all people should know the look I’m talking about. Defiant and strong, and full of determination. As far as she was concerned, I wasn’t getting anywhere near you. Normally, I wouldn’t interfere in affairs of the heart. I’m a romantic, you see, but I’m afraid I couldn’t let you have her. I really do apologize, but the sweet Caroline is mine now. But I will of course let you have your last moment with her. Here, just let me…”

                There was silence on the other line, then a rustling, and finally deep, pained breathing sounded in Klaus’ ear.

                “Caroline?” Klaus asked, and his voice was stricken with fear, hardly louder than a whisper.

                “Klaus,” Caroline replied through those ragged breaths. “I think I may have gotten in over my head.”

                “Where are you, Caroline? Tell me, and I’ll come get you.”

                “There’s no saving me, Klaus. Not this time.”

                “Care, listen to me. You’re a fighter. Keep fighting and we’ll get you. I promised you, remember?” Stefan said, his worried gaze meeting Klaus’.

                “Stefan. It’s good to hear you. You need to find Katherine, Stefan. Get her away. So far away no one will ever find her and-”

                “Now Sweetie, you know that’s not allowed. But don’t worry, we’ll fix that too,” a voice interrupted Caroline’s frantic plea to Stefan, and Klaus could see despair well up in Stefan’s eyes. Whoever that voice belonged too, it was familiar to Stefan, if not to Klaus. A quick glance at Elena’s startled expression showed that she recognized it as well.

                Klaus opened his mouth to ask Stefan why that voice caused him such worry, when Caroline’s screams began to echo over the phone. They were soul-crushing and full of agony, and Klaus found himself bellowing at Silas unintelligibly right along with her.

                “She’ll be glorious,” Silas said coming back on the phone. “Once I’m done with her, she’ll be the most glorious creature you’ve ever seen, Klaus. I’ll shatter her, break her into a million pieces, and then build her back in the shape I decide. There will be nothing human left in her. A fitting Queen for me, wouldn’t you agree? Stefan, if you do contact Katerina Petrova, be sure to tell her that I will be seeing her soon, won’t you?”

                The dial tone echoed in the room as Silas hung up the phone. All four vampires were silent a the implications of what was happening to their friend (or whatever she was to Klaus and Rebekah) hit them.

                Klaus crushed the fragile phone and threw the shattered pieces across the room with a pained bellow. Rebekah stepped towards him, but Stefan placed a hand on her arm to bring her to a halt. Klaus ignored them both, breathing deeply as Silas’ words echoed in his mind.

                He was the one who had called Caroline for help.

                He was the one who had exposed her to Silas.

                He had to get her back.

                “Who did the voice belong to?” Klaus croaked. “The one that called her sweetie.”

                Stefan stared at Klaus in silence. Elena stared at Stefan.

                “Who. Was. It?” Klaus demanded, advancing on Stefan with every intention of ripping off limbs until he got his answer.

                “Her dad,” Elena interjected quickly, standing from her seat. “It belonged to Bill Forbes, Caroline’s dad. Only he’s dead.”

                “Silas can take on the form of dead loved ones,” Rebekah said softly. “It must be horrid for her, to be tortured by someone wearing her father’s face.”

                “It really happened,” Elena replied, her voice even more void of emotion than usual. “Silas isn’t using Caroline’s loved ones to torture her. He’s using her memory. That means Jules, Alaric, the hybrids, even Damon. He can make her relive it all.”

                “She survived it before,” Stefan said quickly. “She can survive it now. She will survive it now.”

                “Two years of torture repeated over and over again?” Elena replied dryly. “Don’t kid yourself, Stefan. Caroline’s only choice will be to turn off her humanity, just like Silas wants.” She gave a bitter laugh and looked at Klaus. “I told her to, you know. I told her she should shut off her humanity and it would make everything easier. I didn’t think it would happen like this.”

                “I really don’t care about your guilt, Elena,” Klaus snapped in reply. “Keep it turned off until we’ve found Caroline. You’re of no use to us as an emotional mess.”

                “And neither are you,” Elena replied coldly. “In fact, right now, I’m the most useful person here. You and Stefan are driven by your love for Caroline. Rebekah is driven by her love for you. I’m the only one who can look at this situation with a cool head. And my cool head tells me we need Bonnie. She brought Silas into our lives; she can damn well help get him back out.”

                It was a tempting thought, to simply rip out the Doppleganger’s heart. It would solve so many issues, but Klaus had to admit that Elena was right. At the moment, she was the only one who _didn’t_ care, at least not in high enough levels to rush to her friend’s side haphazardly as she normally would.

                “Then let’s get Bonnie,” Klaus agreed. “But you should know, Elena, that if we don’t get Caroline back alive, there will be absolutely nothing left to keep me from painting this whole town red.”

                “I’m not worried about getting her back alive, Klaus,” Elena said quietly. It was the most human she had sounded since her arrival. “I’m worried about what he’ll have done to her mind. She is the strongest of us, but even Caroline Forbes has a breaking point and Silas has pushed her to the edge of it.”

STILL-DOLL

                “I don’t want to look at you and see what I’m seeing.”

                Caroline moaned as Matt’s voice invaded the depths of her conscious. She had been floating in and out of reality, and she was having difficulty telling what was a Silas induced vision and what was simply the recollection of her own mind. She was fracturing. She could feel it.   Every now and then, Silas would make her relive the pain of one of her tortures, as he had when she had been speaking to Klaus and Stefan, but for the most part it was psychological. He would be Bill, telling her that she just needed to try harder and she would be fixed. It was Liz, saying that her daughter was dead, or Damon calling her shallow and useless. Right now it was Matt, unable to handle the fact that she was a vampire, but just an hour ago he had been Tyler, watching with a stony face as Jules held a gun filled with wooden bullets to her head.

                She was cracking, breaking at the seams.

                “Why are you doing this to me?” Caroline croaked, her voice breaking from her tears.

                “I told you, my sweet Caroline,” Silas replied, and it was a moment of sweet reprieve, because the voice and the hand that reached out to her really belonged to Silas, and not to her memories. He had become Professor Shane again, for the brief call from Klaus, but he didn’t bother with the disguise with Caroline. “I want you to be my queen, but you’re not ready for it yet. You will be, once we’re done. You have such potential. You showed it, when you finished my sacrifice, when you stared me down across Klaus’ hall and dared me to try and harm him. But that potential is hidden by the expectations you have pushed on yourself. Remove them, Caroline. Turn it all off.”

                “I won’t be the same girl,” Caroline responded. “I won’t have the fire you claim to want so badly. This is useless.”

                “You will never lose the fire,” Silas laughed. “It is far too integral a part of you. Your self-imposed halo will only get a little tarnished. It’s already began, why not let go? Elena’s life is easier without it. Don’t you remember?”

                “Maybe then you won’t have to feel guilty about all those dirty thoughts you have about Klaus.” The voice became Elena’s so suddenly that it almost startled Caroline. She looked up into the likeness of her friend’s brown eyes, devoid of emotion as they had been the day of the competition. Familiar anger rose in Caroline at the memory.

                “Go to hell.”

                Silas as Elena sighed, and then melted into just Silas once more.

                “Such a pity. I didn’t want to have to take this next step, Caroline,” Silas said, and his expression was almost sad. “But, I think I always knew it would come to this. Sleep for now, my dear. Tomorrow is a new day.”

                The words from anyone else would have been reassuring. From Silas, they were haunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, next chapter Silas will step his act up. If you want an idea of what that invovles, take a look at the warnings for the story, and then prepare yourself.


End file.
